1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a package inspection system for inspection or identification of packages, and particularly containers, in a production or a shipment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When a product for inspection has large size and is kept in a package such as a container, it is not easily inspected. Thus, an X-ray transmitting system has been employed. When corns are packed in a container and the containers are imported from a foreign country, it is necessary to inspect the containers without opening or unpacking the containers whether a different product such as weapon or alcohol is packed or not or to identify the content in the container to the designated content.
Heretofore, the containers have been irradiated by X-rays and the X-rays transmitted through the container have been displayed on an X-ray fluorescent display device so as to monitor the display device by an operator whether the content in the container is identified to the designated content or a different product is not contained with the operator's experience.
The conventional system will be further illustrated.
An operator operates a conveyor through an operator's console and a controller to shift the container for inspection at a predetermined position for inspection. Then, X-rays are transmitted from an X-ray transmitter by an operator's operation or a signal for detecting reaching of the container at the position for inspection by a controller. Then the X-rays are irradiated to the container. The intensity of the X-rays reached to an X-ray fluorescent display device is modulated depending upon characteristics of the elements of the product in the container to X-rays and the X-rays are converted into visible rays by the display device. As a result, the X-ray transmission pattern of the product in the container is displayed by the display device. When the operator finishes his collection of data for inspection, the container for inspection is shifted to the next step by an operation of the operator's console or an automatic control by the controller.
The operator monitors the pattern displayed on the display device so as to perform his inspection by his experience, whether a different product is contained in the container or not without opening or unpacking the container or changing configuration of the package.
The conventional system has the aforementioned structure. Thus, it is necessary to consider by the operator's experience by using qualitative data as variable density image display and it is not always possible to attain a precise stable consideration.